Friday, 27 July 2012

Q: Summer Reading. What was your favorite book that you were REQUIRED to read when you were in school?

We weren't required to read many books at school, but one I do remember is "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck, I was enjoying it so much I read to the end when we were only supposed to read to a certain point for homework, backfired on me when the teacher asked us to say what we thought may happen next though!
I also remember a friend of mine having to read "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes, her parents took me on holiday with them, and I ended up reading the whole book instead of her!

Thursday, 26 July 2012

Booking through thursday is a weekly meme hosted by the blog of the same name.

This weeks question:

A while ago,
I interviewed my readers for a change, and my final question was, “What
question have I NOT asked at BTT that you’d love me to ask?” I got some
great responses and will be picking out some of the questions from time
to time to ask the rest of you. Like now.
Two questions about your reading habits that just seem to go together.GigiAnn asks:

Do you have a favorite season of the year that you read
more? (Example: during snow storms, rainy weather, or sunny and warm
weather) Sorry, that was the best I could come up with.

I don't really have a season I read more in, I go through phases of reading sometimes reading loads, sometimes not so much, that will on depend on what else I'm doing, how good the book/s are that I'm reading etc. As for places, I always read in the bath, read in bed most nights too. I love it when its hot outside and I can read out in the garden too. I guess I pretty much read anywhere, the beach and by the pool included.

Wednesday, 25 July 2012

Kevin Midas is badly bullied, so when he goes on a school trip to
Divine Mountain he decides he will climb to the top. When he gets there he
finds a pair of sunglasses. When he puts them on he finds out they are magic
and will do anything he wishes.

With these glasses he can finally become who he wants to be,
popular and not bullied, but at what cost?

Why I picked this book up:

I have a few of his other books on my wish list and only heard
good things about them so when I saw this I picked it up.

Did it live up to my expectations?

Not really.

What I thought:

This started off really slow, we get a lot of background about
Kevin being bullied and it is quite a while before he finds the sunglasses and
the action gets started. Once it got started I enjoyed it for a while, but
again it went on a bit before coming to an end. I did enjoy the end and thought
it quite fitting. Having said that I am not the intended reader age, so maybe
would have enjoyed it more if I had been younger, it has a good lesson about
getting what you wish for and getting revenge.

My favourite quote/s from the book:

"On its worst days, the world still made some sort of sense,
and that was a good thing."

If this book were a song it would be:

“When Did You Fall” by
Chris Rice, slow to start, then good, but gets a bit repetitive and you are
glad when it’s over, but glad you listened to it and quite enjoyed it upon
reflection.

If this book were a food it would be:

I’m not sure on this one, can’t quite think of a food that would
sum it up.

Read if:

You enjoy young fiction, perfect for people aged about 10-12 I’d
guess.

Monday, 23 July 2012

17 year old Grace
wakes up in a write room with only pens and paper to keep her entertained. She
realises she has been kidnapped, but the last thing she remembers is meeting a
stranger named Ethan just before she planned to kill herself. She decides to
write about what is happening and what has happened in the past that made her
want to commit suicide.

Why I picked this book up:

The premise sounded really interesting and it was recommended to
me by Librarything.

Did it live up to my expectations?

Yes.

What I thought:

The book had me hooked straight away. It reads a bit like a diary with
Grace writing what is happening and what has happened in the past, so you are
learning of it as she is remembering/writing it. Because of this you only see
her side of the story. The book was a little confusing, especially the end, but
I think this added to the book for me, I like a book that makes me think and
lets me come to my own conclusions (it does give some kind of ending, it’s up
to you how you interpret it.) This book does deal with a lot of issues, but
they are not in an your face/after school special kind of way, they add to the
story rather than being what the story is about.

I really enjoyed this book and will definitely more by this
author.

My favourite quote/s from the book:

“For a brief moment of madness yesterday (after an entirely sleepless night), I did
entertain the thought that maybe he is a vampire. Until I remembered that my
life isn’t actually Twilight.”

If this book were a song it would be “Many of Horror” by Biffy
Clyro, sad, good and slightly confusing, many people will interpret it in
different ways.

If this book were a food it would be marmite, you either love it
or hate it, but never can figure out quite what is in it. There are also many
things like it, but nothing quite like it if you know what I mean.

Read if:

You liked “Scars” by Cheryl Rainfield; both
books are about cutting as a way of release.

You liked “Ultraviolet” by R. J. Anderson,
both books having you guessing if they are paranormal or realistic YA.

Friday, 6 July 2012

Kendra has recently
started having memories of being abused; the memories don’t allow her to see
the abuser’s face though. To enable to cope with memories she starts cutting,
this, her art and her therapist are the only things keeping her sane.

Why I picked this book up:

I haven’t read any books about cutting, and although I have never
actually gone that far I can understand the attraction in it.

Did it live up to my expectations?

Yes.

What I thought:

The book opens with Kendra telling her therapist that someone is
following her. She is already unsure if she is being paranoid or if “he” really
is after her again. This was enough to pull me in straight away. The emotions
in this book are so real and raw that you really feel you know what Kendra is
going through. She other issues aside from the abuse, so it interesting to read
about those too. I was a bit confused at first as I wasn’t sure if Kendra was a
lesbian or not, and when I was sure she was, I wasn’t sure if her parents knew
or anyone else for that matter. This is quite glossed over in the book, she
admits her mum is homophobic and her parents do mention her being gay, but you
are still unsure how many other people know. I also wasn’t as keen on the
ending as the rest of the story, throughout the story we are focused on her
feelings, but at the end it seemed a lot more action focused and would have
liked to know more about how she was feeling then.

Overall a really good book and definitely worth the read. I loved
this book.

Read if:

You liked “One Moment” by Kristina McBride;
both books are full of raw emotions and about young girls struggling to
remember horrific events.

Jumping Genres: Ever pick up a book from a genre you usually don’t
like and LOVE it? Tell us about it and why you picked it up in the first
place.

I guess the answer for this one is, not really and quite often! I don't generally dislike any genre, just certain books, and I will have a go at reading anything. So I often pick up genres I wouldn't normally read, thats how I find new books, genres and authors I like, but at the same time there isn't a genre I really dislike, so never pick up a genre I don't like. I hope I've made some sort of sense here!

Thursday, 5 July 2012

Rose has to move to
the middle of nowhere, in the middle of an Amish community. One her first day
there the new Amish neighbours come over to introduce themselves. She instantly
falls for Noah, and he for her, but because of their different cultures there is
no way to be together. Will they find a way?

Why I picked this book up:

I like a bit of forbidden romance, and this one sounded
interesting being about an Amish boy.

Did it live up to my expectations?

Yes and no, read below for explanations.

What I thought:

When I first started this book I was enjoying it, I got to learn a
bit about Amish life, the writing seemed good and Rose seemed like a good
character. I expected the instant attraction between Noah and Rose, what I didn’t
expect was for that to be instant love. They meet a couple of ties in company
of family and barely talk, then suddenly they are arranging secret meetings, it
seems like chunks of the book were missing, when did they get to know each
other, when did they actually tell each other how they felt? All that was
missed, it was just assumed by both of them that the other felt the same way so
they arranged the secret meetings. Noah then asked her not to tell anyone about
them, so she runs home and tells her father? Then we miss chunks again and
suddenly her whole family is calling him her boyfriend, although she hadn’t told
her brothers anything.

As a character she turned out pretty shallow, I know people talk
about Bella in Twilight and how she had no life outside Edward, well this is
the same, Rose literally has no life, she doesn’t even know anyone else, she
doesn’t think about anyone or anything else, only a boy she has met a handful of
times and doesn’t even spend the time to get to know.

Noah I really didn’t like, most of the time I wanted to tell him
to grow up, part of it I guess is probably because of his faith, but he is
always convinced he is right, at one point telling her if she really loved him
she’d turn Amish, but not even considering turning “English”, it was his way or
nothing.

Overall not a great book, although I did learn a lot more about
Amish culture which was interesting, so I would probably still say worth the
read if you are interested.

How it stood as part of a series:

Well it definitely left off with somewhere to go, and I may read the
next one to see what happens.

Read if:

You would like to learn about Amish culture.
You are a fan of instant love.

Tuesday, 3 July 2012

Maggie is there when
her boyfriend, Joey, jumps from the cliff and dies by accident, the only
problem is; she can’t remember anything after getting to the top. We see her
trying to deal with her grief and trying to remember what happened, along with
trying to keep the rest of her group of friends together.

Why I picked this book up:

I love a book that makes me feel, and I was
hoping it would do just that.

Did it live up to my expectations?

I didn’t expect this to be as good as it was, so it far exceeded
them. It certainly made me feel.

What I thought:

I started this book at 10.30pm, fully intending to only read for
half an hour, I turned out my light at 12.30am having just finished the book. I
don’t really know what to say about it, except that I loved it. The characters
and emotions felt quite real. It was a little predictable, but that didn’t take
anything away from the great story, if anything it may have helped because you
are waiting for Maggie to catch up with you, but understand why she can’t make
her mind go there.

Read if:

I haven’t read it myself, but readers of “Breaking Beautiful” by Jennifer Shaw Wolf may enjoy this. Anyone who
enjoys realistic YA fiction should like this. Basically I think everyone should
read this, it’s one great book.

About Me

I love to read, cook and knit.
I mainly read YA, especially dystopian YA, but will read realistic and paranormal as well. I will however read most things!
Click any of my book cover images to be taken to the goodreads page for that book.
I am currently knitting a throw from The Art of Knitting magazine, square by square.
Cooking, I love to try new recipes, and love to buy new cookbooks.